Reaper (Firestorm)
The Cyborg Reaper is a special cyborg created by Nod by the time of the Firestorm Crisis. Background The Cyborg Reaper's existence was considered merely a rumour by the time of the Second Tiberium War.Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm manual Nod secretly designed the Reapers, with very few people aware of the project. When CABAL started a rebellion against Nod and GDI during the Firestorm Crisis, all cyborgs, including the never before used Reapers, pledged their allegiance to CABAL, ignoring Nod authority completely. CABAL used reapers to abduct humans, so that they could be turned into more cyborgs to fuel its war machine. Reapers were ideally suited to the task as they possessed web launchers ideal for capturing humans, while also possessing rocket launchers that allowed then to defend themselves against any type of threat, land or air. Overview The Reaper is a four-legged spider-like all-terrain walker, with a Tiberium-mutated human as its operator. It is armed with a pair of quad-rocket launchers effective against slow moving enemy vehicles and aircraft. These rocket launchers fire a barrage of two rockets, which each split into two more rockets for a total of four. The rockets - though independently targeting and individually possessing great firepower, have poor tracking capabilities and move relatively slowly. Its main role, however, is engaging infantry: the Reaper uses a web launcher to stop them in their tracks. The web-like nets are laced with a highly sticky substance, making it difficult for infantry to clear them. While they are incapacitated, regular cyborgs can disarm and haul away the unfortunate soldiers to be converted into more cyborgs, or simply kill soldiers unhindered. Legacy After the Firestorm Crisis, many Reapers were decommissioned and disassembled by Nod and GDI. CABAL's rebellion made Nod think twice about conducting cybernetic research and abandoned the venture. However, Kane authorised the redevelopment of the Reaper, along with cybernetic research, after the Third Tiberium War. Taking data collected from the Firestorm Crisis, the next-generation Reaper became part of Nod's defense class arsenal by the time of the Ascension Conflict. In-game The rockets are very powerful against both ground and air units, but they are inaccurate: if a friendly unit is near the targeted enemy unit, each one of the rockets have a chance (25%) to redirect towards the friendly unit instead. The anti-infantry weapon makes infantry immobile and vulnerable to any attack for a short period of time. This makes Reapers useful in combination with regular cyborgs. Additionally, whilst the Reaper has strong firepower, its armour leaves a lot to be desired. The Reaper, unlike the cyborg, does not have standard "separation procedures", which means that upon taking catastrophic levels of damage, its systems will fail—causing it to capsize and release tiberium spores within its vicinity - creating a small tiberium field, before finally exploding. Like the regular cyborgs, Reapers are vulnerable from EMP attacks. Assessment Pros *Effective against building and vehicles *Self-healing on Tiberium *Reasonably cheap for its high firepower ($1100) *Can fire at both airborne and ground targets *Can temporarily disable entire groups of infantry with its webs Cons *Slow moving *Lightly armoured *Prone to cause friendly fire *Cannot crush infantry when not elite *Slow and imprecise rockets Selected Quotes Trivia *The Reaper's head appears to be noticeably more "skull-like" than that of the standard Cyborg. This could be the result of extreme mutations or an intentional cosmetic modification designed for psychological warfare. *The Reaper's attack cry "Exterminating!" could be a reference to the Daleks from the Doctor Who series. *Due to a glitch, Cyborg Reapers can continue to be attacked even during its lengthy death animation - with each hit counting as a "kill" - contributing towards unit veterancy (Most noticeable with the GDI Disruptor). Gallery CNCFS Cyborg Reaper Concept Art.jpg|Concept art CyborgReaper.jpg|Render CNCFS_Cyborg_Reaper_Render.jpg|Another render FS_Cyborg_Reaper_cutscene_2.png|Render from removed cutscene, with standard cyborgs FS_Cyborg_Reaper_cutscene_3.png|Render from removed cutscene Cyborgreaperbattle.PNG|Render from removed cutscene FS_Cyborg_Reaper_cutscene_4.jpg|Wider perspective of former Reaper_animation.gif|SHP sprite Videos Cyborg Reapers bombed (no sound)|Removed cutscene with Orca Bombers eliminating an army of Cyborg Reapers References Category:Cybernetics Category:Firestorm infantry Category:Firestorm Nod arsenal Category:Firestorm CABAL arsenal